MUTUAL AFFECTIONS OF ELECTRIC SPARKS. 107 



(1224. 1297-)? would be relieved and, perhaps, followed by something equivalent to a 

 contrary action, amounting to a collapse or attraction of these parts. Having long 

 sought for some transverse force in statical electricity, which should be the equivalent 

 to magnetism or the transverse force of current electricity, and conceiving that it 

 might be connected with the transverse action of the lines of inductive force already 

 described (1297.)? I was desirous, by various experiments, of bringing out the effect 

 of such a force, and making it bear upon the phenomena of electro-magnetism and 

 magneto-electricity. 



1412. Amongst other results, I expected and sought for the mutual affection, or 

 even the lateral coalition of two similar sparks, if they could be obtained simulta- 

 neously side by side, and sufficiently near to each other. For this purpose, two 

 similar Leyden jars were supplied with rods of copper projecting from their balls in 

 a horizontal direction, the rods being about 0*2 of an inch thick, and rounded at the 

 ends. The jars were placed upon a sheet of tinfoil, and so adjusted that their rods, a 

 and h, were near together, in the position represented in plan at fig. 2. c and d were 

 two brass balls connected by a brass rod and insulated : e was also a brass ball con- 

 nected, by a wire, with the ground and with the tinfoil upon which the Leyden jars 

 were placed. By laying an insulated metal rod across from a to h, charging the jars, 

 and removing the rod, both the jars could be brought up to the same intensity of 

 charge (13/0.). Then, making the ball e approach the ball c?, at the moment the 

 spark passed there, two sparks passed between the rods w, o, and the ball c ; and as 

 far as the eye could judge, or the conditions determine, they were simultaneous. 



1413. Under these circumstances two modes of discharge took place; either each 

 end had its own particular spark to the ball, or else one end only was associated by 

 a spark with the ball, but was at the same time related to the other end by a spark 

 between the two. 



1414. When the ball c was about an inch in diameter, the ends n and o, about half 

 an inch from it, and about 0*4 of an inch from each other, the two sparks to the ball 

 could be obtained. When, for the purpose of bringing the sparks nearer together, 

 the ends, n and o, were brought closer to each other, then, unless very carefully ad- 

 justed, only one end had a spark with the ball, the other having a spark to it ; and 

 the least variation of position would cause either n or o to be the end which, giving 

 the direct spark to the ball, was also the one through, or by means of which, the other 

 discharged its electricity. 



1415. On making the ball c smaller, I found that then it was needful to make 

 the interval between the ends n and o larger in proportion to the distance between 

 them and the ball c. On making c larger, I found 1 could diminish the interval, 

 and so bring the two simultaneous separate sparks closer together, until, at last, 

 the distance between them was not more at the widest part than 0*6 of their whole 

 length. 



p2 



